Finnegan's Awake

Just when you thought that St. Patrick's Day had ended, Brooklyn proves you wrong! I went to the Brooklyn parade in Park Slope today, which is smaller but just as serious an affair as the giant Manhattan parade. Many families were celebrating, and though there was drinking, it seemed relatively controlled. In other words, no green puke. Enjoy!
Just when you thought that St. Patrick's Day had ended, Brooklyn proves you wrong! I went to the Brooklyn parade in Park Slope today, which is smaller but just as serious an affair as the giant Manhattan parade. Many families were celebrating, and though there was drinking, it seemed relatively controlled. In other words, no green puke. Enjoy!

Are everyone's respective hangovers cured yet? Not to perpetuate the stereotype of St. Patrick's Day. But seriously.
Are everyone's respective hangovers cured yet? Not to perpetuate the stereotype of St. Patrick's Day. But seriously.

I spent most of the day doing journalism work myself, but managed to make it to a few bars and parties throughout the evening. Important note: plastic shot glasses dropped into plastic cups make lame car bombs. But all in all, the rousing good fun I expected.

Here's a video of some people who weren't able to celebrate in the way they wanted to - which is simply to be just like everyone else. I've heard the nasty comments ("Oh those gays always make a scene and ruin everything"), but does anything think that a scene would be made if they were allowed to just participate? Most gay people I know - and I know many - are normal folk who would have no interest in protesting if only they were allowed the same basic rights as the rest of us.

Hey there St. Patrick's Day revelers! If you're stuck at work, or not in New York, check out some photos of the parade, people dressed up for the parade, and people protesting the parade. I talked to people with Irish Queers, and there will be a video up later on Irish Central, so check back! For now, enjoy these shots.
Hey there St. Patrick's Day revelers! If you're stuck at work, or not in New York, check out some photos of the parade, people dressed up for the parade, and people protesting the parade. I talked to people with Irish Queers, and there will be a video up later on Irish Central, so check back! For now, enjoy these shots.

And in case anyone is wondering, I haven't imbibed a drop. Yet.

On the eve of St. Patrick's Day, as we all lay out green T-shirts for the morning and snuggle down in our beds, dreaming of Guinness, we might think about those who won't be included in tomorrow's festivities - gay Irish Americans who aren't allowed to march in the New York City parade.

The 249-year-old parade is a private event run by the Ancient Order of Hibernians (AOH), which is a Roman Catholic religious organization. While they don't specifically disallow homosexuals to march with other organizations (a gay firefighter would presumably be allowed to march with the FDNY, strictly in a firefighter capacity), they don't let gay groups participate.

The LGBT community has mixed responses to this. A group called Irish Queers will be holding its annual protest on 57th Street and 5th Avenue starting at 11:00 a.m. They demand to be included in the celebration of Irish heritage that draws tens of thousands of spectators and has come to symbolize St. Patrick's Day in New York.

Every so often, the Pope makes a decree about some pop culture phenomenon, assuming that A) we can't already guess what the Pope would say and that B) it matters not just to Catholics but to the rest of the world. Personally, I am more interested in what the Pope thinks we should do to deter rampant sexual abuse than his opinion on Avatar, but since Every so often, the Pope makes a decree about some pop culture phenomenon, assuming that A) we can't already guess what the Pope would say and that B) it matters not just to Catholics but to the rest of the world. Personally, I am more interested in what the Pope thinks we should do to deter rampant sexual abuse than his opinion on Avatar, but since it's Oscar night, let's consider the Pontiff's latest media commentary relevant for the time being.

The Vatican's newspaper and radio station denounced Avatar because they say it elevates nature to the status of the divine. (A good account from the Huffington Post here.) While director James Cameron has latched onto the pro-environmental interpretation, he has also been able to sit back from the debate and watch gleefully as different theories over the film's thesis have driven his 3-D spectacle to the highest grossing movie of all time. Others have pointed out, as in this NY Times article, that the movie is just generic enough to appeal to widely diverse audiences who apply it to their own circumstances and political beliefs.

Essentially, Avatar is what you make of it, and I find it doubtful that any practicing Catholics have converted to animism as a direct result of watching it. If a fun night out at the movies makes people less likely to use paper plates or think twice about carpooling, how is that bad for Catholicism, God or the world at large?